NCAA FCS Southern

Mercer football predictions & picks

Southern

2026 record: 8-2
Southern: 2nd
PPG: 28.7
Streak: W6
Last 5: Won 54–3 at VMI · Sat, Oct 3 Won 17–14 vs Western Carolina · Sat, Oct 10 Won 31–21 at Samford · Sat, Oct 17 Won 28–19 vs The Citadel · Sat, Oct 31 Won 14–7 OT at Chattanooga · Sat, Nov 7

Mercer next game

Wk 11

Mercer @2:30 PM ET Saturday, November 14 Tennessee Tech

Picks

The model publishes its moneyline, spread and over/under picks in the days before kickoff. They will be here, and on the game’s own page.

Mercer 2026 schedule & results

Every pick graded once the game ends

WeekOpponentResult Our best pickGame page

Wk 1Sat, Aug 29Aug 29 vs East Texas A&M East Texas A&M W23–15 —

Wk 1Sat, Sep 5Sep 5 vs Presbyterian Presbyterian W62–3 —

Wk 2Sat, Sep 12Sep 12 vs Furman Furman L13–20 —

Wk 3Sat, Sep 19Sep 19 @Georgia Tech Georgia Tech L11–44 —

Wk 4Sat, Sep 26Sep 26 @Abilene Christian Abilene Chrstn W34–17 —

Wk 5Sat, Oct 3Oct 3 @VMI VMI W54–3 —

Wk 6Sat, Oct 10Oct 10 vs Western Carolina W Carolina W17–14 —

Wk 7Sat, Oct 17Oct 17 @Samford Samford W31–21 —

Wk 9Sat, Oct 31Oct 31 vs The Citadel The Citadel W28–19 —

Wk 10Sat, Nov 7Nov 7 @Chattanooga Chattanooga W14–7 OT —

Wk 11Sat, Nov 14Nov 14 @Tennessee Tech Tennessee Tech 2:30 PM ET Pick coming soon

Wk 12Sat, Nov 21Nov 21 vs East Tennessee State ETSU 2:00 PM ET Pick coming soon

Mercer team stats

2026 regular season · 10 games · rank among 127 FCS teams

Offense

Points 28.7/ game 40th

Total yards 404.4/ game 28th

Passing yards 174.1/ game 98th

Rushing yards 230.3/ game 4th

Third-down conversions 32.1% 109th

Giveaways 1.1/ game 34th

Time of possession 30:06 55th

Defense

Points allowed 16.3/ game 6th

Yards allowed 310.7/ game 18th

Passing yards allowed 172.6/ game 14th

Rushing yards allowed 138.1/ game 41st

Takeaways 1.9/ game 9th

Penalties 8.5/ game 121st

Mercer leaders

2026 regular season

Passing Jaylen King 899yds 6 TD · 6 INT · 60.5% comp. · 8 games

Rushing Zahmari Palode-Gary 623yds 1 TD · 6.6 per carry · 9 games

Receiving Brayden Smith 722yds 51 catches · 6 TD · 10 games

Tackles Jyarius Carter 75 10 games

Sacks Ronin Dangler 5.5 9 games

Interceptions Cameron Goggins 5 4 passes defended · 9 games

Southern standings

All college standings

#Team WLT W-L PCTPFPA DIFFSTRKSTK

1 Tennessee Tech Tennessee Tech 910 9-1 .900 356203 +153 W5

2 Mercer Mercer 820 8-2 .800 287163 +124 W6

3 East Tennessee State ETSU 640 6-4 .600 319236 +83 L2

4 Chattanooga Chattanooga 640 6-4 .600 212130 +82 L1

5 Wofford Wofford 550 5-5 .500 227221 +6 L2

6 Western Carolina W Carolina 550 5-5 .500 292297 −5 W2

7 Samford Samford 460 4-6 .400 190229 −39 W3

8 Furman Furman 370 3-7 .300 171211 −40 W1

9 The Citadel The Citadel 280 2-8 .200 181322 −141 L5

10 VMI VMI 0100 0-10 .000 88420 −332 L10

Mercer FAQ

Who does Mercer play next?

Next up for Mercer: on the road at Tennessee Tech, Saturday, November 14, 2:30 PM ET. Our picks for it go up in the days before kickoff.

What is Mercer’s record this season?

Mercer is 8-2, 2nd in the Southern.

Who leads Mercer in passing yards?

Jaylen King, with 899 passing yards in the 2026 regular season (6 TD · 6 INT · 60.5% comp. · 8 games).

Southern rivals

All teams

Chattanooga East Tennessee State Furman Samford Tennessee Tech The Citadel VMI Western Carolina Wofford

Mercer this week

Mercer is 8-2, 5-1 in Southern play. Its last game was a 14–7 overtime win over Chattanooga on November 7, its sixth in a row. Its offense averages 28.7 points a game (40th in FCS), and its defense allows 16.3 (6th).

Next up, Mercer visits Tennessee Tech on Saturday, November 14 at 2:30 PM ET. The rest of the week’s games are on the college football picks board.